Harry woke up slowly. He felt warm and safe. He couldn't quite remember the last time he had felt it. Wanting to hang on to the last vestiges of sleep, he burrowed deeper into the warmth beside him. He grumbled when he felt his pillow shaking.
"Good morning," Barty's husky voice whispered near his ear. Harry stilled for a fraction of a second, as the previous night coming to him. When he felt the arms wrapped around him, he relaxed a little and pulled his head away from Barty's chest, his comfortable pillow. He smiled sleepily at the man next to him.
"Good morning," he whispered back.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Better than I have in a long time. I actually got to sleep until sunrise," Harry replied.
Barty looked at him in confusion, "Do you not normally sleep well?"
"Not normally," Harry replied, leaving it at that.
Barty nodded in slight understanding, "Glad you got a good night's sleep."
They stayed like that for a few more minutes, both enjoying their time together and wanting it to last. Harry, because he didn't really want to face people outside of his little bubble, Barty, because he just wanted to keep Harry close.
"We have to get up," Harry grumbled, not moving from his place.
"I know," Barty replied, tightening his arms around Harry.
Harry grumbled a bit more about anything he could think of, making Barty laugh, until he finally pulled himself away. He glared a little at the sun that was peeking through the curtains, blaming it for making him leave his newfound haven.
He felt the mattress shift and he glanced up to see Barty leaving the bed as well.
"You should go, before they start searching for you," Barty advised.
"I know," he stretched a little and transfigured his sweatpants back to his clothes from the previous night, "I need you to cover for me tonight. I have to go see Tom and I don't know how long I will be."
Barty turned to look at him, his eyes were unreadable and Harry frowned slightly.
"Of course, if anyone asks, I'll cover for you."
Harry smiled at him, letting the matter go, just like he had the previous night. He knew that Barty would tell him if he pushed but he didn't want to push. He wanted Barty to come to him on his own. He wanted Barty to trust him and for that to happen he couldn't push.
"Thanks," Harry said, walking towards the door, then stopped and turned around, "If I want to sleep here again... would you mind?"
Barty's eyes had their shine back and a small smile appeared on his lips, "Of course not. You can come to me every time you wish it."
Harry smiled brightly at him and left Barty's room. He couldn't quite keep the smile from his lips all the way back to Gryffindor tower.
He snuck back to his dorm, doing his best not to wake the others. He knew he would be teased endlessly if they knew he spent the whole night out. If they didn't see him then he could always say he had gone to bed after they had already fallen asleep and that he had woken before them. When he reached the bathroom, he congratulated himself on his sneaking abilities and took a quick shower to get ready for his day.
He was rather thankful that they didn't have any classes that day. He was quite tired. Controlling the elements was difficult. He hadn't truly tested it before the task, which wasn't too bright, but oh well. Sure he had played around with wind, water, earth, fire, and shadow, but he hadn't truly done anything to that magnitude, aside from giving Tom his body back. Though, he had reason to believe that he had felt so tired because he accidentally infused life into his fire dragon. The life element was one of the hardest elements to control, according to his father. But he hadn't really used any of the other elements. Sure he has shot a few jets of water at Barty and he also built forts and castles with earth and he had spent a great deal of time lighting the fire in a fireplace and controlling its intensity, but nothing compared to the dragon.
Truthfully, it had been staggering to having all that fire under his control. He could understand why true elementals had been feared.
Part of him wondered if people would fear him for it as well. Although, he admitted that if they didn't fear him for his power, they would fear him for siding with Tom. Which, in his humble opinion, was a far more valid reason to fear him. Especially because Tom brought out his sadistic tendencies quite easily.
He was somewhat resigned to know that people would fear him, which was the reason why he had opted to show his power. One way or another people would fear his. What did it matter if he gave them reasons for it or not?
The only thing that would have made him change his mind was Dumbledore. He hadn't wanted to catch his attention so soon. Sadly, the pros outweighed the cons. If nothing else, the students were stunned at his display. The older ones were a little wary of him, he could see it in their eyes, but they accepted him well enough. Even if they had seen the task with different eyes than the younger ones, he made them think. He made them realize that having him as an opponent would not be good for them. He could only hope that they remembered it and that it would help sway them to their side or at the very least, keep them from standing against them. He wouldn't begrudge them if they opted for neutrality.
He dressed quickly and went to have breakfast. He expertly ignored the looks he got and when Zachariah and Wayne called him over to the Hufflepuff table, he went. He was a little surprised that they called him. He had expected them to feel a little put out that he had done so much better than Cedric.
"Hello," he greeted them, seating himself between them, "How was the party last night?"
"Not as great as yours, from what I heard," Zachariah grumbled, "Really, a dragon, made of fire. The dragon's own fire no less. Could you have picked anything more flashy?"
Harry chuckled and smirked, "They wanted a show."
"You certainly gave them one," Wayne remarked, "Have you seen how the Slytherins are looking at you? Especially Malfoy and his click?"
"No, not really. Why?" Harry asked, confused.
"Well, I have never seen them looking quite so grey," Wayne replied.
Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and snorted when he saw them. They truly did look grey, though what caught his attention were some of the looks the older students had. There was a calculating gleam in their eyes when looking at him, almost as if they were re-evaluating everything they knew about him. He threw them a smug smirk and turned back to his breakfast.
"I think Malfoy is realizing that you could crush him and that you have been playing with him," Zachariah commented, "He is a Slytherin, his self-preservation must be kicking in," he added with a snort, making Harry and Wayne laugh.
"Do you think he'll leave me alone?"
"I said his self-preservation was kicking in, not that he was smart," Zachariah deadpanned. They laughed again, Zachariah's eyes shone with mirth and the smirk on his lips was almost savage.
"Do you think he'll need a demonstration?" Harry asked.
"Dear Merlin, I hope so," Wayne said, his eyes alight with glee.
Harry chuckled and shook his head. He wondered how he had never noticed just how vicious the Hufflepuffs could be.
"Excuse me," a voice said from behind him. He turned around and came face to face with a little first-year Hufflepuff. "The Headmaster said to give this to you," the little girl told him, handing him a rolled-up parchment.
"Thanks," Harry smiled at her, chuckling when the little girl blushed and scurried away.
He unrolled the parchment and almost sighed when he read it.
It truly did not surprise him to receive a summons. He had just hoped that he would have been able to avoid it for a few more hours. He wasn't all that sure how to deal with Dumbledore. He knew he had to do something, to say something but he didn't really know what.
Depending on how he approached it, his life at Hogwarts would change.
Though he doubted that Dumbledore would ever think that he had joined Tom, even if he acted against the old man. He was sure the Dumbledore believed that there was too much bad blood between them for them to work together. Aside from that, Dumbledore was sure that Tom would kill him on sight.
Still, he knew if he went against Dumbledore that he could make his life much more complicated.
And now that he was thinking about it, he wondered if Snape had told Dumbledore that his Mark had darkened completely. He had seen how fidgety Karkaroff had become. No doubt a result of his Mark darkening and burning. Snape's Mark had done the same. Had he revealed the truth to Dumbledore? Did they know that Tom was back or did they think that he was only getting stronger?
All those things made it difficult to know just how to react.
What to do... What to do...
"What is it?" Wayne asked, looking a little concerned.
"Oh, just a summons to his office," he said nonchalantly, concealing his turbulent thoughts, "I'd better be on my way. The sooner I get this over with, the better."
They nodded, told him to join him in their common room later, if he wanted to, and went back to their breakfast.
Harry waved good-bye and walked out of the Great Hall. He dragged his feet a little, trying to delay the meeting for as long as possible. He wasn't afraid of the old man, he wasn't. He had no reason to be but at the same time, he didn't want to face him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to hide the bitterness and resentment he felt. He didn't want to complicate his and Tom's life, but he knew he wouldn't be able to act as Dumbledore's little Savior.
Sooner than he wished, he arrived in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He took a deep breath and said the password.
"Twix," he almost snorted the password.
He knocked on Dumbledore's door and a moment later he heard, "Enter."
The office was just as he remembered it.
"Harry, my boy, thank you for coming. I hope I didn't pull you away from your breakfast?"
"No, Headmaster. I had already finished," he replied, taking a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk when the old man gestured to one of the armchairs.
He sat patiently and waited for the Headmaster to begin. If anything he had learned to be patient.
"Now, my boy, do you know why I called you?" the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was slightly dimmed and Harry almost smiled when he saw that.
"No, not really, sir," he knew perfectly well why he was there. But there was no need to make life easier for the old man, was there? He certainly hadn't made life easier for Harry.
"Well, my boy, as you can imagine, yesterday's task left quite a few people speechless."
"No wonder. What were they thinking, setting us up against dragons?" Harry replied, doing his best to look indignant as possible.
"Yes, well... That wasn't really the reason why people were speechless. The spell you used, where did you learn it?" Dumbledore had leaned forward on his seat, his eyes piercing.
"Why does it matter? Shouldn't you be happy I wasn't turned to ash?" Harry asked, not quite being able to mask the biting in his tone.
"My boy, of course, I am happy that you were unharmed," Dumbledore placated, a grandfatherly smile on his bearded face, "However, I am concerned about you. The only spells that can control the elements are some of the darkest known to man, I do not wish to see you walk down that road."
"So what if it was? It kept me alive," Harry remarked, rather defensive and off-put.
"Surely you don't mean that, Harry," the twinkle had vanished completely from his eyes and Harry wanted to pat himself on the back for managing to do it, "Think about what your parents would have said."
"I think, since they died so that I could live, they would be rather happy that I survived. No matter how I managed to achieve it," Harry replied, he knew this as a fact, thanks to his father, that his parents stood with him. Though he had to give it to Dumbledore, in his previous life, that line would have worked like a dream.
"There is another who believes in survival no matter the cost, Harry," Dumbledore told him, his voice grave and Harry could feel the old man's magic fluctuating slightly.
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. Harry knew Dumbledore was referring to Tom and because he knew, he couldn't help but respond, "Good for him, then. It's good to see that there are smart people out there."
"I was speaking about Lord Voldemort, Harry," Dumbledore said after a few seconds of stunned silence. As if knowing who it was would make all the difference. As if it would make Harry realize that he was somehow wrong in his stance.
"You know," Harry said slowly as if he were weighing every word that was leaving his lips, "He always we were rather similar. Perhaps he was right?" Harry relished in the shock that flashed briefly on Dumbledore's features, "Maybe our will to live far outstrips anything else. Not that it really surprises me, considering where we grew up," the last bit was more of a mutter but he delighted in the almost unnoticeable flinch it produced.
"I'm not some Savior," the word was spat out. "This isn't some fairy tale, where Voldemort is bad and I am good and should strive to be nothing like him. I am just a teenager who was dragged into this mess, expected to save a people that want to stick their heads in the sand and send a child to fight their battles. I only want to survive, by any means necessary."
"Where did you learn that spell, Harry?" Dumbledore demanded, any trace of the grandfatherly personality gone.
Harry sneered, he couldn't help himself.
"It wasn't a spell," he stated gleefully, "It was only magic. Magic and my will." When Dumbledore paled he let out a satisfied smirk, "Is that all, Headmaster?"
Getting a nod from Dumbledore he got up from his seat and left the office.
"As soon as he was down the stairs he chuckled. Hopefully, that will keep the old man busy for a while. It wasn't very likely that Dumbledore would find out he was an elemental just by that, but he would spend hours, days, maybe even weeks, researching. As obsessed as he was with the damned prophecy, he may even think it was the mysterious power that Tom supposedly didn't know.
Harry chuckled again, making his way to Barty's room, at least it would keep the old man out of his hair.
___
"What are you doing?" Tom asked, looking down at Harry who was sprawled on a rug in front of the fireplace in his study.
"Lazing about," came the muttered reply and Tom had to stop a smile from forming on his lips.
"I see," he sounded far more amused than he wanted, "I thought that we would be working on our plans?"
"We are," Harry agreed, "I was just so damn comfortable at Hogwarts and I had to drag myself here. I wanted to indulge a little."
"What were you doing at Hogwarts?" he asked curiously, taking a seat near the fireplace.
"The exact same thing, though, I had company on the rug, since Barty was there," Harry answered, stretching himself lazily.
"Oh?" Tom asked rather curious, "You're spending a lot of time with him, aren't you?" Tom asked, looking amused.
"Yeah," Harry replied, sounding on the verge of sleep, "He's warm and cuddly."
"My Death Eaters aren't cuddly," Tom felt the need to say. Although, he wasn't sure who he was defending, himself or his Death Eaters. Maybe both? He was sure that none of them would be able to live knowing they were considered anything as mushy as cuddly.
"Alright, your Death Eaters aren't cuddly," Harry agreed, nodding his head, "My Barty is though."
Tom's eyes looked amused. Tom would have felt jealous of the pronoun in front of Barty's name, however, he had time to re-evaluate his own emotions. He had come to the conclusion that he didn't like Harry as a lover, more like a sibling love or sibling respect.
Granted, he did not want to know how Harry came about the knowledge that Barty was the cuddling type.
"Hmm," Tom replied, trying to hide his amusement, "Should we start our plans then?"
Harry gave a long-suffering sigh, stretched one more time and got up to his feet.
"Yeah, I think it's best. Your Death Eaters know you are back. It's about time they are put to use." Harry remarked.
Tom nodded and accioed a few parchments from his desk. It was time to set things in motion, he would deal with other things later.